seized in his possession, they were manifestly for purely scientific
experimental investigations—exactly as were the spirit-hands affixed to
wires and the musical boxes of the Rev. “Doctor” Monck.
The London case of “Doctor” Slade, is too well known to require being
detailed here. As his fee was a sovereign, well-off people having much
time to kill with any excitement, and empty heads to fill with any
nonsense (much the same sort of silly people as those for whom some
West-end High Church is the half-way house to the Pro-Cathedral), must
have been his most numerous visitors. Thus Society with a capital S took
great interest in him, and our penny daily press, always ready to pander
to Society, and to the snobbery of its readers who are not in Society
but ever on their knees worshipping it—our penny daily press furnished
full reports of the proceedings. Mr. Flowers, the magistrate at Bow
Street Police Court gave a written judgment on the case, sentencing the
“Doctor” to three months’ imprisonment with hard labor in the House of
Correction; which sentence to the credit of our common sense, sadly
discredited by much that came out on the trial, was received with some
applause, and Mr. Lewis the prosecuting solicitor was cheered by a large
crowd on leaving the court. Of course, there being money to back the
“medium,” notice of appeal was given, and bail accepted—the defendant in
£200, and two sureties of £100 each.
In the course of the defence there was read from the _Spiritualist_ an
account of a sitting with Slade by Mr. Serjeant Cox, who, as Mr. Flowers
observed, would, if an appeal were raised, be one of the judges of that
appeal. The said account, after relating various wonders, concludes
thus: “I offer no opinion on the causes of the phenomena, for I have
formed none. If they be genuine, it is impossible to exaggerate their
interest and importance. If they be an imposture it is equally important
that the trick should be exposed in the only way in which trickery can
be explained—by doing the same thing, and showing how it is done.” Now
this, at any rate, seems to show judicial fairness if not judicial
sagacity; and is beyond blame, as having been written before the learned
Serjeant (unless warned by the spirits) could have had any expectation
of being called upon to deliver a legal judgment on the matter. But
after Mr. Flowers had passed sentence, and the appeal had been raised,
this same Serjeant Cox, having become a prospective judge of the case,
opened the third session of the Psychological Society of Great Britain,
whereof he is president, and which, under such a president, will
doubtless do a vast deal for the science of psychology. According to the
report of the _Standard_ of Friday the 3rd inst., much of the address of
this admirable judge and philosophical president “was an indictment of
materialist scientists for their attitude towards psycho-logy, and on
this point he said the most important event of the year in relation to
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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